Stock Market Plummets, Tech Stocks Among Hardest Hit

Bryan R. Smith / AFP / Getty ImagesTraders work the floor at the closing bell of the Dow Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange on October 24, 2018 in New York. - US stocks finished a punishing session sharply lower Wednesday, October 24, 2018, with major indices sinking more than two percent and the Dow and S&P 500 tumbling and wiping out all the 2018 gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.4 percent to close at 24,583.42, a single day loss of more than 600 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 4.4 percent to finish at 7,108.40, posting its worst day since 2011, while the broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.1 percent to 2,656.15. (Bryan R. Smith / AFP / Getty Images)

All the major U.S. stock market indices fell sharply on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq officially entering into correction territory.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index suffered its worst day in over seven years, dropping approximately 329 points (4.4 percent) to to 7,108.

Similarly the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 600 points (2.4 percent), dropping below 25,000 for the first time since July, and erasing all its gains for 2018.

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The S&P 500 also lost all its gains for the year, pulling back 85 points (3 percent) and coming in at 2,656.

According to The Journal, “Worries about global economic growth and corporate earnings have buffeted stocks around the world and commodities this month. Highflying internet and technology shares have been among the hardest hit.

“Investors have flocked toward the technology sector for years because of its ability to consistently lift sales regardless of global economic growth, but recent trade tensions between the U.S. and China and signs that earnings might be peaking have hurt the market’s leaders.”

Market watchers also pointed to rising interest rates as a drag on the stock market.

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Netflix was among the stocks hardest hit, declining 9.4 percent, even after it reported a jump in subscribers last week.

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“It was kind of a market that was looking for a reason to have some money come out of it,” Tony Dwyer, chief market strategist with the brokerage firm Canaccord Genuity, told The New York Times. “And it found it.”

CNBC reported that stocks have taken a beating in October, which has often been the case in years past.

The Dow is off 7.1 percent for the month, while the S&P 500 is down 8.9 percent, and the Nasdaq tumbled 11.7 percent.

Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.
Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.

Birthplace

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Graduated dean's list from West Point

Education

United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law